Tag Archives: Dragonfly

How we lead the way as a Dragonfly Care Home

Posted on by Nicky Macfarlane

Why we believe meaningful care matters

Huntington House continues to lead the way in the provision of residential care and as the first accredited Level One Dragonfly Home, achieving an Excellent rating from Meaningful Care Matters, for the delivery of the Dragonfly Approach in 2022.

Offering a highly engaged service with a high value on meaningful moments and a true person-centred philosophy. People’s individuality and expression is evident and people can express that freedom and be themselves.

“I don’t think you could find many Huntington’s. It’s extremely well run. Different people get different things. I love it! I came for two weeks and have stayed for months.

It’s the attitude you just couldn’t fault. They have been very understanding to me as a smoker as so many places don’t these days. AND they’ve let me have my dog Woolly – they had a vote on it and then Maggie said “Woolly is welcome!” Resident of Huntington House

Molly and Christine

A leading Dragonfly care home

Meaningful Care Matters conducted the audit during June 2022, accrediting the home with flying colours, recognising the hugely impressive achievement of the whole team at the Huntington & Langham Estate after the challenges of the last two years from managing Covid-19.

On receiving the news Charlie Hoare, Managing Director of The Huntington and Langham Estate said:

“I’m so very proud of our team, and completely overwhelmed with the outcome, especially having managed to maintain such a high standard of true person-centred care when Covid-19 has presented so many challenges along the way.

 

Reading the report made me incredibly emotional, having needed to navigate the government Covid-19 guidance over the last 2 years, whilst maintaining our family ethos and the Dragonfly Approach at Huntington House.  Knowing that the effort to balance it all, has had a positive impact on people’s lives makes it all worthwhile.

 

There is something so fundamental about looking after each other; it is why we exist as humans. Life in care homes should reflect life in general, and while the care industry still has a way to go to achieve a truly holistic approach, being the first accredited Level One Dragonfly Home is arguably the best evidence that we are leading the way.

 

For me, both professionally and personally, it’s the positive comments from the people that live and work here that are so important, as well as feedback from family members.

Having an independent audit by Meaningful Care Matters, ensures that we remain focused on the most important part of running a care home; the people and their freedom to be themselves.

 

The expert insights provided in this years report, into how to embrace people’s individuality, and the impact of the environment on their experience of life in a care home, will become our care encyclopaedia for the next year, until the next audit!”

Working with Meaningful Care Matters

Established in 2019, Meaningful Care Matters (MCM) focuses on the development of resilient relationship-centred cultures of care shaped by the people living and working within them. MCM believe that caregiving is meaningful for everyone involved when cultures of care express the personhood of people within them. In these person-centred services both “caregivers” and recipients of care can flourish.

The Dragonfly approach is about the ‘whole person’. While traditional care focuses primarily around clinical needs, the Dragonfly approach gives control back to the person who is being cared for and values the person on an emotional and social level, meaning each person is “free to be me”.

 

“There is a real feeling of home here. It is informal relaxed and family like. We always ask “How would I want my loved one to be treated?” That’s the starting point. With the Estate, you can feel the love – everyone truly does care and people have fun!

 

Even during the pandemic, we managed to have outdoor parties and we could use the buggies to go round the beautiful gardens”. Team Member at Huntington House

 

Huntington House Team

There is lots more information about The Huntington and Langham Estate available on our website. https://huntingtonlangham.estate/

We love to show people around the Estate and our two wonderful homes so please do send us an Email to huntington@hlestate.co.uk or call us 01428 604600 to arrange a visit.

What is holistic nursing care? | Huntington & Langham Estate

Posted on by Ricky

Our approach to Holistic nursing care

At Huntington and Langham Estate, it’s amongst our values to take a holistic approach to the care we offer our residents.

We place equal importance on treating our residents with respect as we do on creating a happy, friendly environment. Just as in holistic psychology, an approach which emphasises the ‘whole’ rather than the sum of its parts, holistic nursing care takes a ‘mind, body & soul’ approach, rather than focusing on an illness alone.

Holistic nurses see the body, mind, soul and the environment as interconnected, instilling overall values of unity and humanism into the care they provide.

Carer and resident relationships

Holistic nursing care very much focuses on the relationship between the carer and the resident. The holistic nurse’s aim is to heal the whole person, rather than focusing solely on a problem area. This means ensuring the individual’s mental health is sound, in addition to ensuring they’re experiencing adequate social interaction, gentle physical exercise, nutrient-dense meals and time in the outdoors.

Holistic nurses are also encouraged to practice self-care so that they can provide high-quality care themselves, whilst taking time to understand their residents in-depth so that they can provide individualised care.

The mind, body, spirit and environment

An individual’s environment has an overall effect on their health. In order to experience maximum health and happiness, individuals need sufficient access to nature, as well as healthy foods and likeminded individuals with which to spend time.

Encouraging residents to take up new hobbies instils a new sense of purpose, as does spirituality; all of which can be experienced through activities to develop fine motor skills, such as knitting, gentle yoga and meditation.

Perceiving the mind, body, spirit and environment as interconnected is key to ensuring that each of these aspects is met through everyday care and activities.

Many of which can be achieved by establishing a strong, trusting relationship with residents, allowing their voices to be heard to create an effective, tailored wellness programme.

Individualised care

Taking a holistic approach allows carers to provide more in-depth individualised care, tailoring the care plan to the individual’s personal needs, whilst paying close attention to their quality of life.

Holistic carers can help promote healing through helping individuals make the right lifestyle choices for them, whilst involving their personal beliefs in the treatment process.

An individualised care approach emphasises the importance of a holistic carer and resident forming a strong relationship, in order for them to gain maximum health benefits and feelings of wellness.

We take pride in our holistic care approach at the Huntington and Langham Estate, always striving to meet the most intricate of individual needs. To find out more about the care we offer, please click here.